Auto Pilot

[Rolled_Steel]

I am an avionics instructor, teaching flight controls (including autopilot) on helicopters of all things.
As a general rule, a pilot still has to take-off and land (though with steering bars etc that can all be largely automated too) but once in clear airspace can engage a 2-3 way point autopilot. If they change their mind and want to go to a different location, they select it and the aircraft does a gentle turn to the new heading.

I cannot for the life of me work out why we have space travel between different systems using technology not yet invented and yet do not even have a simple stick friction lock, let alone an autopilot.
Even if there isn't an autopilot that can do multiple leg routes, surely it should be possible to have the controls slaved so that when I pick a target on my nav computer I can then select the option to automatically head towards that target maintaining current speed!

 

[Fire70]

I do love these I don't like it won't use it shouldn't be in the game arguments..

I'm pretty sure if you want to do it the old fashion 1920's way then the game will still allow that..

I have been playing Xplane recently and it is so refreshing to actually have something to do while going from point A to B unlike this game where your biggest challenge is to make sure the dot is in the centre.

Even in the year 3300 space travel should be far more complex and involving than this game make it out to be. Make the trip more engaging than looking at the (repetitive) scenery out the window and people will spend less time watching youtube while "playing"..

 

[FoxFire Ayderan]

So what do you expect to happen if an NPC decides to interdict you? and if you had any cargo, they demand you to drop some, and since you are busy doing other stuff than playing the game, you do not get notified about it, and later come back to a rebuy screen!

This situation sums up why this is a terrible idea to begin with... as I would expect you to be very upset that your ship got blown up for no "apparent" reason...

That's supposed to be a known downside. By the time you can afford to purchase one you ought to know about being interdicted. And anyone who goes AFK while auto-piloting and comes back to a Rebuy screen should not be surprised or particularly upset (well not with the game anyway, perhaps with themselves).

I cannot for the life of me work out why we have space travel between different systems using technology not yet invented and yet do not even have a simple stick friction lock, let alone an autopilot.
Even if there isn't an autopilot that can do multiple leg routes, surely it should be possible to have the controls slaved so that when I pick a target on my nav computer I can then select the option to automatically head towards that target maintaining current speed!

The going speculation is that the reason we are forced to do this all manually is because it gives you something to do in a game that (at first glance from this noob's perspective) has very little to actually do, despite the enormity of the playing space. Nevertheless, I'd rather be doing those few things without the tedium of having to pilot my ship manually, even if that meant some down sides to doing it automatically, like being slower.

Frontier has substituted the tedium of forced manual navigation for actual fun and interesting game play. For instance, driving around on a planet, even though barren, and using a terrible to handle SRV, is more fun and interesting game play, I could do it indefinitely, because the landscape is always different (even while often quite similar). That's not to say (Frontier) that I don't want to see more things to do on planets and more varied and interesting landscapes.

Eve Online allows you to auto-pilot your ship. It's slower and it's more dangerous to do. Slower because it puts you 15km away from the stargate and your ship needs to putter within 2k to jump. And more dangerous because other players can take it as an opportunity to destroy your ship. NPCs generally won't however. In any case you can autopilot across known space if you want to, though fortunately even their manual flight from system to system isn't nearly as tedious and aggravating as Elite's . Now granted Eve Online takes place some 20,000+ years into the future, so... obviously they developed auto-pilot tech by then whereas we here in the year 3303 have not. It's horrendously complicated you know (well for space ships at least).

So, to keep manual piloting a thing that people might choose to do, I think making auto piloting slower would be reasonable. It would inherently be more dangerous as well, since slower movement (say only doing 50% thrust in the blue zone, maybe a longer countdown to FSD - say 10 seconds), would make you easier to catch and interdict. And preferably NPCs are only going to interdict you for valid reasons and not just for the hell of it.

 

[additional001]

:x ...pssst, U missed where I said I was firmly against that gameplay

About 1% of my dockings (probably less) have been with an auto-dock C and only out of curiousity in 3 years of flying. I never use gimbles and been to Hutton quite a few times by now without loosing my mind.
I have zilch problem with flying manual, I was just trying to be nice for a change and conjured up a reason for using an auto-pilot, hence the Guinness part. You're really, rrreeaally talking to the wrong guy here. ♥

I really am so tired of this... Elitist mentality in this community. Akeem I hate to use you as an example... so don't take this as me speaking to you directly but those who think and play exactly like you. To those of you who think because you have a HOTAS setup and that makes you better than a XBOX controller player. To those of you who can land on a dime and have change to spare so landing computers are for noobs... I have NEWS for you. To FDEV... who thinks things like automating certain things will stop people from "flying in the game," I have news for you!

"There are more things dreamed of than in your philosophy Horatio!

There are people who play games that have mental and physical handicaps this one included. Not one of you have EVER stopped to think about it. Go look for ANY sort of accessibility options in this game. Go ahead... see how many you can find? How about text size manipulation? Better HUD colors? (FDEV g loves orange tho!).

Quite frankly I'm tired of you telling me FDEV included that I don't belong in this game because I want a few things simplified for me. It doesn't make me a snowflake. It doesn't make me less of player than you. You may be better than me. You may shoot better than me because you don't need gimbles or turrets. You may land better than I do because you have great eye sight and good hand eye coordination. You may have more credits than me... or whatever other GOD FORSAKEN reason you think you are better than anyone else. You can take this attitude and shove it.

I am a player! I play this game! There is no reason people should have to deal with snobs in this community... in game or out. At the end of the day you are equal to me in a major aspect we are here to have fun.

I just wish everyone would stop and think about things from others perspective. Allow me to offer you some now...

I think its great... if you can use fixed weapons and kick butt I'm happy for you.
I need gambles and turrets because they can do damage where I fail to see and respond to the target quickly enough.

If we both have fun killing a target? Are we any different?
I don't get on here and complain that you do more damage with FIXED than I do...
Why do you think you are so much better for using FIXED?

So you can do 250 flip upside down and touch down on the right landing pad without breaking a sweat
We both are landing because we just did something productive right? We had fun out in the black?
So what does it mater if my landing is automated?

Seriously where does this crap attitude some many of you have on here come from?

 

[Spacegamejunkie]

What the immershun squad don't understand is,
even they can drown if held under the Grind too long.

I say that those who "Luv" point N Click, turn point N Click, repeat until fuel scoop, OR something other,
then turn point N Click, point N Click, for however minuets or hours to Destination, go for it and enjoy.
We promise you will not have to pay for modules you don't want, or intend to use.
But don't look down at us who want a way to use travel time for Better reasons,
than "I want it and see it Only MY way".


For those of us who would like to use the Time to gather information, from 3rd party sites,
because the Game lacks much info that is required to achieve some objectives, OR maybe we just want
to listen to the New Galnet station, or Enjoy the view while traveling, or spotting something to investigate,
which we may have missed without the Auto Pilot On, OR just plot our next destination, or whatever.

We deserve just as much care as the opposition, so Don't force either down our throats, let us choose.
Just make it an upgrade of the Docking module, DONE.